Shifting at the speed of light

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It all comes down to how much money you have.

Only the ability to shift while your hands are on the basebar, and near the brakes (eg, while sitting up and climbing, while turning on a technical course, etc.).

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Thinking more about shifting on climbs.

People have been shifting on climbs just fine for a very long time.

If I were to go to the mechanical route is there anything in particular I can do to make the shifting better smoother and crisper. I. E. Any in particular parts or cables anyone would recommend

You're not missing much, just the greatest shifting group of all time!

As long as you can ride mech or di2 it's all good man!

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Speed kills unless you have speed skills!!!

Mid level SRAM or Shimano components will work very nicely. Maintain chain and replace it about every 1000 miles and shifts will be crisp and quick. Just my 0.02

Mechanical on the Road Bike, Di2 on the TT

It's one of those things where you will get along just fine and be very happy without out. But, once you get it you'll wonder how you lived without it.

That's me too. Have had ultegra di2 for about 3 months. Price was reasonable because it came on a discounted full bike. What sold me was the 2 position shifting, being able to shift when climbing from basebar. It would not be fun training where I live on a tri bike without this, I've done that before. All my rides have some climbing even trying to avoid vertical. It is pretty amazing, super quick and actually seems natural pretty quickly. Still, even if I had unlimited funds not sure I would install on road or MTB bikes. I would recommend it on your tri bike.

The plan was to buy a complete DI2 setup second hand but has been pushed back and I'm running out of time for spring race training. Now if I want that set up from this individual I need to wait another 6 wks. Or build mechanical.

Like I said... it all comes down to how much money you have.

This...

plus the auto trim of your FD, no more dropped chains, oh and micro trim adjustment of the RD while on the fly with a push of a button.

But other than that mechanical works fine.

1. If you sometimes use your bike as a commuter & city bike or you live in a mountainous region, using di2 is an extremely goooood choice.
It's quite hard to shift using mechanical bar-end shifter while you're climbing
In the case of di2, you can shift both derailleures like a conventianl road bike.
You do not need to move your hands.
Just put them on brake levers and shift.

2. Looks cleaner. (It's up to your frame though..)
Personally, I do not want 2 more thick cables.
2 break lines will do.

3. Di2 runs better with oval chainlings.
Osymetric, Qxl and Absolute black work better with di2 than mechanical system

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Stay home, stay healthy.

why don't you just buy Ultegra di2 parts on ebay or amazon? I just built my shiv with di2 and paid less than $1100 total for the drivetrain.

Why don't you try it out... I had di2 and went back to mechanical. Di2 is nice when it works but if it dosnt.... Mind you I had the old di2 the newer ones shift faster but still nothing I personally would not spend a single penny more.

The main advantage is the base bar shifting. I've ridden bikes with Di2 and, whilst the speed of the shift is impressive, I'm not at all convinced that a bike shifting from the 15 cog to the 16 cog in 1/10th of a second compared to 1/5th of a second is really a performance improvement.

The front shifting on Di2 is far superior, though.

My current TT bike runs Dura-Ace 10 speed friction shifters linked to a tiagra 4600 10 speed rear mech and a 105 5700 front mech. I run ultegra 6800 inner and outer cables. I spent a good bit of time setting up the gears and the rear shifts absolutely impeccably, all the time, without fail. I pull/push the lever and, as good as instantaneously, the rear changes gear. It makes a lovely "thunk" sound too, when I'm running my 88mm carbon rear.

The front, though, not so good. That's more to do with the fact that my derailleur hanger is made of soft cheese, rather than the setup itself.

I've toyed with the idea of upgrading to Di2/Etap but I just think that there is so much more to be gained spending that money on coaching, nutrition etc. When the day comes that I believe that my mechanical groupset is actually slowing me down, then I may consider it. Maybe. It's a lot of money to spend to not really get any faster.

I will definitely co-sign on looks cleaner and it certainly runs better with my beloved QXL chainrings! Ive had QXL on the TT and just recently change my venge with DA di2 and QXL and it rocks!

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Speed kills unless you have speed skills!!!

I agree all around. I ride mechanical for cost, maintenance. However I agree that electronic up front. I see this when riding with others with Di2. They sometimes gain a bike length on me when going to little to big ring.

For me, the armature, the cost of Di2 is too much for too little

yah but chicks dig di2! lol

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Speed kills unless you have speed skills!!!

http://blog.artscyclery.com/...to-spend-your-money/

Ditto everyone's comments that it all comes down to money. If money and time are against you, then just build a quick mechanical setup with minimal investment that you can discard or sell when you do a future electronic upgrade. That is what I am doing.

That link from FlyingScot is excellent. I have been generally ignorant, but followed most of it by accident during my recent upgrades. The only thing I would do differently from Art's list is the RD. I would go Ultegra there too. I do not think 105 is engineered for heavy use, and it is probably good for a season before wear starts creeping in. So, my 105 RD is not as crisp and precise as it was 5,000 miles ago. All the rest I have done, am planning to do, or not applicable.

I am planning to dump all of this for either Di2 or eTap for next season. The reason, it is so awesome. Is it necessary or make me faster? No.

I can't remember where I read it, but just in the last week I came across a quote by Brett Sutton where he recommends mechanical for his athletes. He specifically stated that the performance advantages are basically nil and the risk of breakdown during an 'A' race is too high ... that he had seen too many examples of the latter over the years. But what does he know?

While Di2 issues are certainly minimal, I've also read of race day failures too many times to count. If you aren't travelling much, I wouldn't worry about the latter, but if you are dragging a bike to a destination race where you've invested a lot of money just to get there, then electric can be an unnecessary risk.